Pat Launer on San Diego Theater
By Pat Launer, SDNN
July 15, 2010
By George!
THE PLAY: “The
Madness of George III,”
the only non-Shakespeare part of the Old Globe’s Summer
Shakespeare Festival
When
a film version was in the works for Alan
The
The
Whigs and Tories were at each other’s throats. It was Fox against Pitt, father
vs. son. George’s overweight, overindulgent eldest offspring, the Prince of
Wales (fat-suited Andrew Dahl) was aligned with Whig leader Charles Fox
(Michael Stewart Allen), aiming to wrest power and be declared Regent. George
was advised by his austere Prime Minister, William Pitt (outstanding Jay
Whittaker, the most versatile performer in the whole Summer Festival). The
problem for all was, the King seemed to be losing his
mind.
Two
centuries of conjecture have reflected on the possible causes of George’s blue
urine, coupled with his ranting, raving and rambling (during Christmas 1819, in
the last weeks of his life, he reportedly blathered incoherently for 58 hours
straight). The general consensus has been porphyria,
a genetic neurological disease. But a recent paper by two Englishmen, published
in the March 2010 issue of the journal History of Psychiatry, claims otherwise.
The debate, like the King himself, rages on.
Though the play has an upbeat ending, King George actually descended further into lunacy and delirium toward the end of his life, and never regained his sanity. But during the 1780s, the Regency Bill authorizing the Prince of Wales to act as Prince Regent actually was passed in the House of Commons. Fortuitously, George recovered before the House of Lords could vote.
And so – or, “what what!”
as the King would say – he kept his crown. But he descended repeatedly into the
depths of mental illness, and was treated by all manner of self-serving medical
quacks. The smart, witty play provides not only a history lesson about leadership
and governmental machinations; it’s a metaphor for an unhealthy political
system and a broken medical system.
Adrian
Noble, artistic director of the Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival (already
invited back for next year), helms a magnificent ensemble, centered by Miles
Anderson’s sensational performance as the King. He is by turns tender, furious,
foul-mouthed, contrite, impatient and mad as a hatter. Spectacular
work. All those around him are excellent, too, especially Emily Swallow
as his Germanic Queen Charlotte, the aforementioned Whittaker as his chief
adviser, and
The set (
Some
of the mad scenes are unsettling. But one of the delicious moments of the
evening comes when the King (Anderson) and the Doctor (Foxworth), in an effort
to keep the ruler’s emotions in check, read “King Lear” (“I had no idea what it
was about,” claims Dr. Willis, surprised by the story of another mad monarch).
That moment is priceless; it’s Foxworth who plays Lear on alternating nights.
Noble certainly knew what he was doing this summer. The three-play
cross-referencing is a piece of planning genius.
THE LOCATION: The Old Globe’s
Festival Stage in
THE DETAILS: Tickets:
$29-$78. “George III” runs in repertory (on selected evenings, Tuesday-Sunday),
alternating with “The Taming of the Shrew” and “King Lear,” through September
24
Bottom
Line: BEST BET
That’s
Funny; you don’t look Shrewish!
THE PLAY: “The Taming of the
Shrew,” the
comic relief in the Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival
Shakespeare’s
most knotty comedy (one of his so-called ‘problem plays) originally began with
an Induction, a framing device that offers the action as a kind of historical
diversion for a drunken tinker. It’s usually omitted. Here, under the direction
of Ron Daniels (former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s
experimental theater, The Other Place, at
There
are a few other excesses in the production. There’s a good deal of silliness,
and there’s a marvelous cane horse, strapped on a man and able to do all manner
of things (from wiggling its ears to dropping a load. Potty humor not welcome
here). But where it’s most important, Daniels gets it superbly right.
His
central lovers, the opportunistic Petruchio and the
harridan Katherine, are magnificent together. What has made this play a
‘problem’ for four centuries is the apparent misogyny of its conceit.
Petruchio has come from
When
he first meets Kate, we see instant chemistry, and for nearly every minute
they’re onstage together, they never take their eyes off each other. They both
realize that this is a mating of peers – equally clever, witty, stubborn,
intractable, emotional and sexual. Petruchio seems to
‘tame’ her; after the wedding, he keeps her from food and drink; he makes her
say the sun is the moon. But there’s the sense that she’s in on his game, that
she knows, as he does, that theirs is a very fine match indeed. And that makes
her final words, the really tough-to-take speech to the other wives about “true
obedience,” easy to accept. She’s not being sarcastic or subservient, but her
definition of “obedience” is a bit elastic. Like King George III, she has
learned (the hard way), the value of self-control – that is, once she drops her
defensive veneer of irascibility.
In
the riveting, passionate and forceful performances of Jonno
Roberts and Emily Swallow, we are swept up in the relationship. We aren’t made
to feel queasy or uneasy, and that’s a triumph of acting and directing. Most of
the rest of the cast is happily gamboling over the top. Jay Whittaker is a hoot
as the foppish Lucentio, who finally gets the girl (Bree Welch as Bianca). Petruchio’s
wily servant, Grumio is played by Bruce
Turk, who’s the Fool in “King Lear,” who offhandedly sings “the rain it raineth every day,” a Shakespearean Fool’s song from
another play ( “Twelfth Night’s” Feste) which somehow
manages to make us think of “Lear” and his
storm. The interweaving of the Festival plays is delightfully self-referential.
Special
mention must be made of the costumes (Deirdre Clancy) which are jaw-dropping
gorgeous. The music (Christopher R. walker) swells at emotional moments like a
film score. There are up and down moments throughout the evening, but in sum,
it’s great fun. And beautifully realized. This Kate
and Petruchio are a couple
of winners, in every way.
THE LOCATION: The Old Globe’s
Festival Stage in
THE DETAILS: Tickets:
$29-$78. “The Taming of the Shrew” runs in repertory (on selected evenings,
Tuesday-Sunday), alternating with “King Lear” and “The Madness of George III,”
through September 26
Bottom
Line: BEST BET
NEWS AND VIEWS
… That OTHER
George III: George Steinbrenner III,
who passed away this week, wasn’t only interested in baseball, and Yankees games weren’t all he attended
in
…
Speaking of Games:
Just in time for ComicCon, “GAM3RS,” the
delightfully hilarious solo show about online gaming (of the conquer-the-world
variety) is back. Having had a successful run at ion theatre, the
high-octane, one-act comedy, delectably performed by Brian Bielawski
(co-written with Walter G. Meyer) , will have 15 extra performances, right near
the site of the mega Con. And since that’s a bit much even for the antic,
tireless Bielawski (a USD alum), local actor Steven
Lone will step in for some performances. This one’s not just for your
geek-friends; your gal-pals will get a big kick out of it, too. Read my full
review here: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-05-05/things-to-do/theater-things-to-do/goldas-balcony-plus-more-theater-reviews-news,
and check it out at the 10th Avenue Theatre, playing 2-3 times a day, July
20-25. “Gam3rs” is the centerpiece of Gam3rCon, which will take over several
floors of the Theatre with game demos, gaming celebs, gaming lounges and,
between performances of the show, screenings of videos. For info, and to see a
trailer of the play, go to http://www.gam3rsthewebsite.com
…
Raising the Bard: The San Diego Shakespeare Society is
hosting a series of free lectures called “Speaking of Shakespeare.” In
the fourth, “Dressing the Part: Clothing and Costume in Shakespeare’s Time,”
costumer/actor/singer/director Tara J. Pool presents a bit of clothing history
and a peek at how Shakespeare’s contemporaries would have dressed for their
roles. There will be some touchable samples and an exploration of some of
Shakespeare’s own textual directions to the Costumer. Saturday, July 17,
12:45-2:00 p.m., at the
…
Debbie Does
…
So You Think You Can… Trolley Dance: San Diego Dance Theater is looking
for dancers to participate in its annual “Trolley Dances, 9/26-10/3). Every
year, the company employs more than 50 dancers to perform short pieces along a
…You Can Go Home Again (sort of): Haven’t been
to the Belly Up in a long time. And haven’t seen Leon Russell
in an even longer time. But I was an avid fan of old, as were most of
the 50-somethings in the audience (some brought their Leon LPs). The
white-haired, white-bearded 68 year-old is still wearing shades, but they’re of
the flip-up variety (a bit nerdy for a hardcore rocker). The legendary
pianist/singer/songwriter collaborated with Joe Cocker (Mad Dogs and
Englishmen), and over 3-4 decades, recorded with as diverse a lineup as Sam
Cooke, The Byrds, Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner, the Monkees, the Stones, John Lennon, B.B. King, Willie Nelson
and George Jones -- and served as inspiration to Elton John, with whom he’ll
appear soon (July 24 at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre) to promote their new
album. Disappointingly, Russell didn’t interact with the crowd at all, until
the very end of the evening, when he praised the many “lovely ladies” in the
audience that “make me wish I was 50 again.” He still has the wit, but we
didn’t get much of it. Most of the time, performing his own songs as well as
many covers (Beatles, Stones, Dylan), he was pretty much phoning it in -- until
he got to the encore, when he did a terrific job on his biggest hits, “Song for
You” (solo) and “Delta Lady.” Most of the show was rockin’
and wailin,’ but the bluesy numbers were best. The
band was super throughout. It wasn’t the
…
Who Shows Short Shorts?: New Vision Theatre Company, operating
Oceanside’s Sunshine Brooks Theatre, presents its 5th annual Summer Shorts, a
festival of ten-minute plays, culled from more than 400 submissions from around
the country. All genres and styles are represented, though most lean to the
humorous side. The actors and directors are from
PAT’S PICKS: BEST
BETS FOR THE WEEK
v
“The Madness of
George III” –
superb central performance, disturbing, historical story
The Old Globe’s Summer Shakespeare
Festival, playing in repertory through 9/24
v
“The Taming of
the Shrew” –
a wonderful, meaningful take on Shakespeare’s comical ‘problem play’
The Old Globe’s Summer Shakespeare
Festival, playing in repertory through 9/26
v
“Parasite Drag” – dark, intense,
and often funny; wonderful production
ion theatre, through
7/24
v
“The 25th
North Coast Repertory Theatre, 2nd
EXTENSION, through 8/14
v
“King Lear” - a good, if not great, production;
Shakespeare’s magnificent tragedy is always worth seeing
The Old Globe’s Summer Shakespeare, playing
in repertory through 9/23
Read Review here:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-06-30/things-to-do/theater-things-to-do/%e2%80%98king-lear%e2%80%99-%e2%80%98-surf-report%e2%80%99-plus-more-theater-reviews
v
“Eurydice” – modern twist on
an ancient myth; magical, deep and beautifully crafted play and production
Moxie Theatre, EXTENDED through 7/18
Read Review here: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-06-23/things-to-do/theater-things-to-do/breathtaking-eurydice-plus-more-theater-reviews-news
To read any of her prior reviews, type ‘Pat
Launer,’ and the name of the play of interest, in the SDNN Search box.
Pat Launer is
the SDNN theater critic. She can be reached at patlauner.sdnn(at)gmail.com